17th National Art Biennale: A recap
Ershad Kamol
The month-long 17th National Art Biennale ended on July 16 at the National Art Gallery, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA). The exhibition arranged by the Department of Fine Arts, BSA featured 373 artworks by 247 artists. Apart from familiar forms like paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramics and installations, the artists have also presented digital painting and video installation. Veteran artist Aminul Islam was the convenor of the jury committee. Artists Abu Taher, Mahmudul Haq, Abdus Shakoor Shah and art critic Mainuddin Khaled were other members of the committee.Ten artists were awarded by BSA. Debashish Pal, for his Contemporary Portrait of Bangladesh - 3, won the BSA Grand prize. Shahinur Rahman for his installation Zero: The Primary Unit received the Bengal Foundation Award. For Justice, Khalid Mahmud Mithu won the Arab Bangladesh Bank Award. The Shah AMS Kibria Award went to Uttam Kumar Roy for Target We and I - 35. Ahmed Shamsuddoha, for Aim 1, won the GrameenPhone Award. The Deepa Haque Award went to Gulshan Hossain for her innovative work Archaeological Report of Romeo and Juliet - 2. Faruk Ahmed won the Azizunnesa Fine Arts Award for Composition - 2. The BSA Honorable Mention Awards went to Tarique Zulfikar for Simulacrum - 2, Amirul Mominin Chowdhury for Nuhash and the Alien - 32 and Ashraful Hassan for Tree-man and Wall - 3. Commenting on the success of the biennale, Nazrul Haque, director of Department of Fine Arts, said, "On an average, around 200 visitors -- most of whom are students of fine arts -- came to the exhibition each day. I believe this exhibition has managed to inspire the aspiring artists." Some of the works at the biennale were admired by renowned artists. Eminent artist Murtaja Baseer, who has judged several national and international festivals, said, "The exhibition confirms that professionalism has developed among the young artists in our country. Quite a few works are notably innovative and the artists are using new mediums. Having said that, it should also be mentioned that several works are not up to the mark. I think the jury should be judicious during the selection process so that a particular standard is maintained." On the other hand, some of the award recipients seemed a bit critical about the jury. Winner of AB Bank Award, Khalid Mahmood Mithu, said, "A few of the jury-board members have little idea on the latest art forms. This year we have encountered a new problem. Without mentioning the media, BSA has given us awards. The sponsors' names are mentioned like 'AB Bank Award', which is quite confusing as no one knows if it's a national award or not. Moreover, the management process was quite disorganised." Winner of Bengal Foundation Award Shahinur Rahman also criticised the management process of BSA. On this issue, Nazrul Haque said, "I can't do anything beyond the decision of the jury. We have made the certificates with full cooperation and approval of the jury."
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Participating artworks at the biennale: (from left) The Game of War by Abdus Salam, Consequence of War by Kanok Kumar Pathak and Shomoyer Khela - 4 by Shulekha Chaudhury |
